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“Nobody knows where it is, but when you find it - it’s amazing.” Thanks to one clever pun and a striking image, the Lithuanian capital Vilnius has become the G-spot of Europe. The campaign, conceived by students at an advertising school, has already brought delight to Internet users across the world, but like any novel idea, it has also provoked opposition.

The lead image of the campaign features a young woman lying on sheets that draw a map of Europe, grabbing Lithuania in apparent ecstasy. On YouTube, three campaign videos have been released to illustrate the pleasures that Vilnius’ gorgeous architecture can bring to a true connoisseur.

The campaign website, vilniusgspot.com, is also focused on the ‘pleasures’ of the city. One can either “skip the foreplay”, or build a personal Vilnius pleasure map by responding to statements such as “There is no such thing as too much tongue”, and “The right accessories can enhance any experience”.

On the Twitter hashtag #vilniusgspot, the feedback is largely positive. The daring strategy has got the world talking about the city. Criticism, on the other hand, has focused on the fact that the campaign was launched just before Pope Francis’s September visit to the Lithuanian capital. Indeed, the Lithuanian government had called for the campaign to be postponed, but Vilnius decided to press ahead. While Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis called the marketing strategy “strange”, he said that “it does not cross the line in a democratic country”.

In the end, if more people come enjoy what Vilnius has to offer, the campaign will have to be deemed a success. Already now, many will have thought of Vilnius in an entirely new way.

About the author

Editor-in-Chief of The New Federalist. Opinions presented in articles represent author’s personal views rather than a common view held by The New Federalist.

Originally from Finland, Juuso Järviniemi studies International Relations at the University of Edinburgh. He was the President of the British JEF section in 2017/18, and has been a member of JEF-Europe’s Federal Committee since 2017. In 2018/19, Juuso is on an Erasmus exchange at Sciences Po Paris.

Juuso’s interests include the democratic structures of the EU, the UK’s place in the European project, and European identity.